Intermittent catheters are typically used by patients suffering from urinary incontinence or by individuals unable to have voluntary urination. In our highly mobile culture, the ability to have the freedom to leave home for the day or longer is an important part of life. To accommodate this need, single use catheters have been developed to allow patients to perform self-catheterization. These catheters and their drainage tubes typically have a considerable length and are packaged in an elongated condition. It can require a considerable amount of space to store and transport enough catheters to accommodate a day long outing.
A gel container is used as a means to apply gel to a urology catheter upon withdrawal of the catheter from a package. The container holds the gel until needed and acts as a reservoir of gel for the catheter. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,578,709 and 6,090,075 disclose packaged catheters which may be extended out of the package through a gel chamber so as to coat the leading end of the catheter. British patent application GB-A-2 319 507 also discloses a packaged catheter with a lubricant activating liquid therein. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,574 discloses a storage package with a catheter and a wetting liquid in the storage package. When needed, the leading end of the catheters disclosed above are pushed out of their containers, which may then be used as urine collectors.
Typically, the gel container is made of a flexible material like molded silicone. If the container is assembled into a rigid package there is no way for the user to manipulate the container to ensure adequate gel coverage of the distal (tip) end of the catheter.
The Cure Twist available from Cure Medical of Newport Beach, Calif. is a compact female length catheter packaged in a rigid tube package with an internal, flexible gel receptacle molded of silicone rubber. The gel receptacle holds lubricating gel in storage and applies it to the catheter tubing as the catheter is withdrawn from the package. U.S. Pat. No. 8,181,778 discloses such a rigid container for a catheter having a shortened tube with a leading end and a proximal end provided with a catheter outlet or connector. The user removes the catheter for use, either by joining the connector to a collection bag or other collection device or by simply using the catheter while sitting on the toilet. The catheter is lubricated and ready to use directly from the package.